PMI-SAC Conference Nov 20, 2012

1. PMI-SAC Conference Nov 20, 2012 Independent Project Review: Increasing Your Chance for Success Presented By Mike Benson, PMP Principal

2. Who Is This Guy? • Mike Benson • Project/Program Manager for 20+ years • PMP designation in 2001 • History of achievements delivering large scale technology solutions (both IT and EPC) • Principal of Blackstone Project Management with focus on: • Project & Program Management • Independent Project Reviews / Project Health Checks • Project Rescue Services • Project Management Office (PMO) Set-up or Review • PM Mentoring and Training • Projects and clients in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, Tulsa, Minnesota, Florence

3. Who Is This Guy? (cont’d) • PMI-SAC Board Member 2005-2011 (Membership, Finance) • Established the PMI-SAC Mentorship Program • Board Sponsor of the PMI-SAC 2010 Conference • Previous speaking engagements at project management events: • Tech Forum (Calgary) • PMI Regional Conference (Portland) • ProjectWorld (Vancouver) • Topics: Project Operational Readiness, Establishing a PM Mentorship Program, and Project Portfolio Management

4. Agenda • Introductions • The “Stats” about project failures • What is an IPR? • Why do a review? • When and how often • How an IPR is conducted • Expected results and benefits • Closing • Q & A

5. Introductions • Who’s in the room?

6. The “Stats” about Project Failures • We’ve all seen the numbers (Standish, Gartner, Forrester, Meta, Carnegie, etc.) • A quick thought on stats….

7. The “Stats” about Project Failures • A quick thought on stats…. • BC Premier Christy Clark …said BC’s job creation numbers are currently tops in Canada, ahead of Alberta. *source Calgary Herald, City & Region section, Wednesday Oct 17, 2012 • “We’re used to…having Alberta doing better than anyone else…it’s significant for British Columbians to recognize that we are No. 1” – Christy Clark • Is she right?

8. The “Stats” about Project Failures Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey September 2012 year-over-year (seasonally adjusted) • Is she still right?

9. The “Stats” about Project Failures • The Standish Group • The CHAOS Report * Source: The Standish Group "CHAOS Summary 2009" • Latest study shows rise in project failures

10. The “Stats” about Project Failures • The Bottom Line: • Even if you deliver the project, if - • The budget has been exceeded • Or the delivery is late • Or the scope has been reduced • Or the product quality is lacking • Or the product does notmeet business requirements • Or the product does notgenerate the expected businessbenefits • The project may not be considered successful

11. What is an IPR? • An Independent Project Review is: “An independent or cold eyes review of an in-flight project to gather information and provide an objective and unbiased assessment of the overall project status along with recommendations that will assist the project and team by identifying improvements or procedural changes which will result in increasing the opportunity for project success.” • Mike Benson, October 2012

12. What is an IPR? • Different names: • Independent Project Review (IPR) • Cold Eyes Review • Peer Review • Project Health Check • It is not: • Project Forensics • Project Audit • Lessons Learned or Project Lookback

13. Why do a review?Introduction: • Many organizations have difficulty delivering projects • A project runs along until it becomes obvious that there are problems • By then it’s usually too late • Affords the PM, project team, and project sponsor an interim view of what is going well and what areas need to be improved upon

14. Why do a review?Introduction: • Standard practice is a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly status report which compares plan vs. actual • Problem #1: project team ability to meet reporting deadlines • Problem #2: data provided is force-fit into standard reporting templates • Problem #3: cumulatively biased reporting • Problem #4: focus on what has been done • Sometimes you just need to add some clarity and a different view to the status report picture

15. Why do a review?General: • Help determine the true state of a project and whether it looks to be on track • View the forest and not just the trees • To eliminate project team bias through independence • To ultimately provide constructive help • Not intended to be burdensome or create barriers

16. Why do a review?Organizational: • To ensure project is aligned with strategic objectives • When using a 3rd party system implementer • To protect the investment • For organizations struggling to overcome project performancechallenges…find issues, trends

17. Why do a review?Governance: • To identify whether good project management rigor and structure is in place • To understand whether standard project management processes are in place and being adhered to. • To review of the effectiveness of the Stage Gating process

18. Why do a review?Project: • To assist in identifying, minimizing and mitigating challenges and risks • To provide proactive opportunity to make project corrections • To anticipate and identify potential problems before they occur • To review the financial picture, and whether controls are functioning as required

19. Why do a review?Project: • To assess whether the project has challenges in the area of: • Governance and leadership • Appropriate level of sponsor involvement • Information and communication management • Stakeholder engagement • Team dynamics – the Dennis Factor

20. Why do a review?Project: • To assess the project team’s readiness to proceed to the next stage in terms of: • Scope definition • Resource basis / transitioning • Technical capabilities • Adequacy of remaining budget • Adequacy of remaining schedule • Identification of potential cost/schedule cuts

21. When and how often? • Proactive or Reactive? • What kind of project: • A large and highly visible undertaking • High level of complexity • Significant business process impacts (OCM) • Significant budget • Significant time and effort • Significant resources • These factors, in combination

22. When and how often? • Rules of thumb – how often • Duration (including planning): • 0-4 months - no review required • 5-9 months - 1 review • 10-18 months - 2 reviews • 19+ months - 2/year for each 12 months

23. When and how often? • Rules of thumb - when • If one: 1/3 of the way through execution • If two: 1/3 and 2/3 • If more than two: • Prior to exiting a major Stage Gate • At major milestones and/or transition points • One after planning and then during execution • The later the review, the diminishing the influence of the review outcomes for that project

24. How an IPR is conducted • The review activities are “independent”, however, support of the project team is essential • Who sponsors a review? • Project sponsor • CIO/ VP IT (VP Engineering) • Senior Executive • Advisory Board / Steering Committee • Functional Manager • Manager of Project Managers / PMO Manager • Program/Portfolio Manager • Project Manager

25. How an IPR is conducted • Sponsors role: • Establish the terms of reference and objectives • Identify the specific areas of focus (i.e. scope) • The above assist in establishing the SOW • Identify the key project personal • Communicating the review and purpose to the project team and stakeholder community (squash the rumor mill) • Ensuring logistics of the review are addressed • Resolving any issues that may arise (in conducting the review) • Receiving and reviewing the final report(s)

26. How an IPR is conducted Review Methodology • Phase 1 – Initiation: • Project Sponsor for the IPR has been determined • Establish the issues (if any) that would prompt the IPR • Establish a SOW for the IPR (background, objectives, scope of review, approach, deliverables, critical success factors) • Deliverables: • Determine review team size (usually 1-4) • Estimate length of engaged (varies depending on scope and size) • SOW • Communication from sponsor

27. How an IPR is conducted Review Methodology • Phase 2 – Planning: • Determine what project artifacts to review • Determine who to interview • Deliverables: • Review Plan • Set interview schedule • Questions developed

28. How an IPR is conducted Review Methodology • Phase 3 – Execution: • Interviews – individuals and group meetings • Examine project artifacts • Consolidating/validate observations • Begin conclusions/recommendations • Deliverables: • Source data for report

29. How an IPR is conducted Review Methodology • Phase 4 – Report & Recommendations: • Review results, identify gaps, and follow up • Analyze & validate information and develop corrective action plans • Prepare draft report • Deliverables: • Draft report, including observations, issues, and recommendations & corrective action plans

30. How an IPR is conducted Review Methodology • Phase 5 – Review & Finalize: • Review with IPR Sponsor and Project Manager • Adjust based on feedback • Prepare and deliver the final report • Deliverables: • Final detailed report • Final summary (presentation) report (if in scope)

31. How an IPR is conducted • Elements to review? (depending on scope) Controlling documents & processes Project Process Groups Planning documents & processes (baseline) Executing documents & processes Technical documents & processes

32. How an IPR is conducted • Review Project Planning documents & processes: • Project plan • Project charter (or DBM) • Scope statement • Work Breakdown Structure • The original project schedule • Business plan stating objectives of the project • Benefits definition, and plan to track & capture • Project org chart • Project team roles and responsibilities • The original project budget / Financial contingencies • Stakeholder identification & engagement • Project communications plan and/or matrix • Project priority triangle • Acceptance criteria/sign offs • Risk management plan

33. How an IPR is conducted • Review Project Execution documents & processes: • Implementation plans • Transition to operations plans • Contingency plans • Training plans • OCM plans • Organization and staffing (skill level, quantity, applied roles and responsibilities, team dynamics) • Utilization of approved corporate methodologies • Business engagement & commitment • Project schedule spanning all project phases • The system for progress reporting / status reports • The centralized system or repository for project documentation

34. How an IPR is conducted • Review Project Controls documents & processes: • Project costs to date (to compare vs. original budget) • ETC/EAC • Change control system and approval process (scope, quality, costs, schedule) • Issues management • Project risk identification, mitigation, and monitoring • Vendor management • Governance • Lessons learned

35. How an IPR is conducted • Review Project Technical documents & processes: • Customization identification • Reporting needs/plans • Go-live strategy • Post-implementation plans • Data conversion plans • Configuration approach

36. How an IPR is conducted • IPR Critical Success Factors: • IPR sponsorship, communication, and commitment • Clearly defined scope & expectations • Timely availability of key stakeholders and project team members as required • Timely access to relevant project documentation • Strict adherence to the scope, deliverables, and timelines as outlined in the SOW

37. Expected results and benefits • Independent review is free from regimented reporting constraints (more time spent analyzing the data) • Elimination of project team bias • Organization-centric reporting (not project-centric) • Focus on trending and forecasting instead of historical reporting • If the elements being reviewed are not already in place, the IPR will surely result in immediate benefits

38. Expected results and benefits • Professionally executed • Level of comfort to senior management • Produce a list of findings and recommendations which are practical solutions based on root cause analysis • If done early enough, recommendations can be made to improve project execution

39. Expected results and benefits • Identify improvements to the flow of information regarding the project to all stakeholders • Promotes a proactive approach to addressing issues • Assist the project team in identifying and removing obstacles • Assist the project team in identifying weaknesses or bottlenecks in the organization’s project delivery capability

40. Closing • High level overview of an Independent Project Review • The content and activities for an IPR will vary, depending on the project size, complexity, timing, current status, team dynamics, corporate PM maturity level, and scope of the review • The principal objectives, approach, and methods will remain virtually the same

41. Q U E S T I O N S ? Independent Project Review: Increasing Your Chance for Success Mike Benson mike@blackstonepm.com www.blackstonepm.com